Kiwi Jr. - Cooler Returns (Album Review) Wednesday, 27 January 2021 Written by Huw Baines Indie-rock is full of carefully disguised traps designed to ensnare posers and almost-there tribute acts: bands can be too clever, or too dumb, sound too much like their influences, or sound too little like themselves after a couple of records. By accident or design Kiwi Jr. stray into these crosshairs all the time, but whenever the moment to pull the trigger strikes they ricochet off into some other thing entirely. With their second album, ‘Cooler Returns’, they prove themselves adept at evoking Jonathan Richman’s speak-sing poppiness and the antic jangle of Parquet Courts, anchoring each segue to singer Jeremy Gaudet’s slate of zingers and sharp hooks.